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I picked this knife up, about mid December, to be my mane stable work horse knife. It was my first real venture into the world of j-knives. I had tried a few shuns and came to this site looking for those. After finding the forums a doing a lot of research and getting a little advice i decided on the koishi 210.

First off, a few specks:

Cutting edge: 219mmLength from back of choil: 215mmHeight at heel: 47mmSpine width at handle: 5mmSpine width in front of pinch grip(5cm from handle): 2mm

I work at a moderately high volume restaurant (between 500 and 750 covers on a busy night) so in the few weeks I've had this it has seen some pretty heavy use.

My first impression of the knife upon opening it is that the pictures didn't do it justice. The fit and finish is impeccable. This knife is simply stunning and as the exposed edge has patinaed it has only gotten more so. It was also wicked sharp out of the box w/ no need to sharpen it at all. I have a coworker who is afraid of it. It has also kept its edge extremely well. I've yet to sharpen it. I do however stop it nightly and hone it occasionally on my mac black ceramic rod. The handle is also gorgeous however, there is a distinct texture difference between the cherry wood handle and pakka wood ferrule. Once i hit them with a quick sanding with 1200 grit sandpaper that was all taken care of. Also i was a little unsure of an octagonal handle but found no problems with it. In fact, this is the most comfortable knife i have ever held (for reference I do use a pinch grip).

It has been a pleasure to cut with and, I have used it for pretty much everything requiring a knife in the kitchen. This knife is not a laser, but the grind is excellent. It only experiences minor wedging in taller hard ingredients such as squash. I mostly chop and use push/pull cuts and on anything softer than an onion the knife does quite literally fall through. When chopping celery I could not feel the blade go through, only hear it. The hammered kurouchi finish is a bit rough to the touch but the only effect when cutting is you can really hear the knife when cutting. The koishi is also quite nimble and i have been using it to peel all sorts of ingredients (carrots, cucumbers, jicima, potatoes,etc.) and even for parring a bit. I also love the slight recurve of the choil area. I used to use chinese cleavers and tend to use the heel of knives as my point for many pairing tasks. This knife is the best for that of any i have tried. I also have never had an easier time of trimming and butterflying multiple cases of chicken the edge on this knife just glides through any meet laid before it.

There have been many statements that decry the use of carbon steels in the professional kitchen because of maintenance issues. I found just keeping a damn sanitizer rag and a dry rag both folded next to my board gives me the ability to give the knife a few wipes on each occasionally. I have had absolutely no problems with rust and with the way this AS steel performs more maintenance we would still be worth it.

I only have a couple of very minor qualms with this knife. First, I find it to be a little short for my tastes, however if i had gone for the 240 I think it would have fixed this. I should have paid more attention to what I read in the forums. My own fault there. Second, was the handle texture I mentioned before.

All in all I love this knife. I am extraordinarily pleased with all aspects of my purchase. Thank you to everyone at Chef Knives to Go for your exemplary service, and to every one on this forum for being the wealth of information and positive feedback that you are.

cedarhouse

Post subject: Re: Masakage koishi 210mm

Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 3:42 pm

Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 12:20 amPosts: 4152

Thanks for the review. Great feedback.

RedWattle

Post subject: Re: Masakage koishi 210mm

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 5:08 pm

Joined: Fri Mar 29, 2013 4:29 pmPosts: 495

Good review. Glad you love the knife. They are very nimble.

Boostfed

Post subject: Re: Masakage koishi 210mm

Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 9:17 pm

Joined: Sun Nov 10, 2013 12:50 pmPosts: 113

I wanna pull the trigger on the Koishi 240mm on clearance used for a knife review. Great deal 15% off. Stainless clad AS with a beautiful tsuchime finish. The Koishi Nakiri is one of many nakiris I am looking at as well, will post asking suggestions on that one. I would like to see how the Koishi gyuto compares ro my Moritaka KS since they use the same steel. One thing you mentioned is using a sanitizer rag, I have read not to use bleach or chlorides on carbon steel knives so I always have sani water at my station for ss knives and my cutting board and some soapy water for my carbon steel knives. Maybe someone with more experience than me can interject

Boostfed wrote:I wanna pull the trigger on the Koishi 240mm on clearance used for a knife review....

If your interested in a Koishi I'd save $50 and get that clearance knife, you want be able to tell it from new! You better get it soon!

_________________If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.

CGuarin1987

Post subject: Re: Masakage koishi 210mm

Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 11:09 pm

Joined: Sun Oct 13, 2013 3:37 pmPosts: 497

Boostfed wrote:I wanna pull the trigger on the Koishi 240mm on clearance used for a knife review.

I am assuming that is the knife I used to do the demo. On top of what was in the video, only a few more ingredients were cut. So it has maybe around 20 minutes of board time. As close to brand-new as you can get. Definitely a sweet deal.

B.B.C.

Post subject: Re: Masakage koishi 210mm

Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 11:07 am

Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:10 pmPosts: 245

I haven't had any problems with the sanitizer we use but, I do always hit the dry towel after the sanitizer. Then i wash it with soap before i put it up. I have yet to see a single spot.

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